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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

A Robot Starts to Make Decisions on its Own

A Robot Starts to Make Decisions on its Own

February 22, 2010

It’s a lot easier to send a bloodhound to track a criminal, or your kid to pick up groceries, than it is to get a deep-sea robot to find something on the seafloor. The dog will pick up the scent…

The Squid, the Whale, and the Grad Student

The Squid, the Whale, and the Grad Student

February 19, 2010

On the Serengeti Plains of Africa, lions stalk their prey mainly by sight. Scientists studying them also use their eyes to observe the hunt and indeed the entire ecosystem. They can take in the whole panorama, easily distinguishing lions from…

The Mysterious Movements of Deep-Sea Larvae

The Mysterious Movements of Deep-Sea Larvae

December 31, 2009

The marvelous migrations of fish and whales through the deep sea have been hard enough for us humans to follow. But what about tiny organisms—many smaller than the dot beneath this question mark? How they move from one spot to…

Shipwrecks Offer Clues to Ancient Cultures

Shipwrecks Offer Clues to Ancient Cultures

December 18, 2009

Brendan Foley hunts for shipwrecks, but he’s not searching for gold or jewels. The sunken treasure he pursues comes not in chests, but mostly in curvaceous clay jars called amphorae—the cargo containers of the B.C. world. Holding remnants of goods…

Buoys Help Avert Whale-Ship Collisions

Buoys Help Avert Whale-Ship Collisions

July 22, 2009

A lot of lines crisscross, run parallel, and ultimately connect in this story. The first line is a watery one hugging the East Coast between Florida and Nova Scotia, which right whales have migrated along since time immemorial. The second…

News Releases

New global efforts to map and monitor kelp forests extend to South Africa and Namibia

April 30, 2025

A new expansion of kelpwatch.org, brings over 40 years of satellite-derived kelp canopy data to South Africa and Namibia, offering new insights into these vital underwater forest ecosystems.

‘Fishial’ recognition: Neural network identifies coral reef sounds

March 11, 2025

Faster identification of fish sounds from acoustic recordings can improve research, conservation efforts

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution identify heat-resistant kelp strain

February 10, 2025

A new strain of kelp can help support sustainable farming

Nereid Under Ice

WHOI vehicles go to extreme sides of the globe

December 10, 2024

Simultaneous missions near Greenland and American Samoa support critical research about ocean life and sea level rise

Multi-disciplinary teams respond to recent hurricanes to measure real time impacts of storm surge, waves

November 15, 2024

A joint team, including WHOI researchers, recently mobilized to investigate the real-time impacts of storm surge and waves from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

News & Insights

WHOI builds bridges with Arctic Indigenous communities

February 10, 2021

NSF program fosters collaboration between indigenous communities and traditional scientists, allowing WHOI’s autonomous vehicles to shed light on a changing Arctic

WHOI-assisted study finds ocean dumping of DDT waste was “sloppy”

October 29, 2020

An investigative report this week in the LA Times features the work of WHOI’s marine geochemistry lab in identifying the discarded barrels and analyzing samples from the discovery.

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